Buckle construction for a wristwatch bracelet

ABSTRACT

Buckle construction for use with a watch bracelet which can be designed to be compact and with an excellent appearance and is effective to prevent accidental unlocking of the buckle worn on a person&#39;&#39;s wrist.

United States Patent [151 3,636,596

Iizuka v 51 Jan. 25, 1972 s41 BUCKLE CONSTRUCTION FOR A 3,319,308 5/1967 Williams ..24/191 3,425,104 2/1969 Mochizuki ..24/7s WRISTWATCH BRACELET 3,478,537 11 [1969 Golberine et al ..24/265 ws [72] Inventor: Yoshlhiro lizuka, Ageo-shi, Japan Primary ExaminerBobby R. Gay [73] Assignee. Citizen Watch Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan Assistant Examiner Ga"y Moore [22] Filed: July 7, 1969 Attorney-Hall, Pollock & Vande Sande [2]] Appl. No.: 839,470 57] ABSTRACT Buckle construction for use with a watch bracelet which can [52] g be designed to be compact and with an excellent appearance [51] J 6 and is effective to prevent accidental unlocking of the buckle [58] Field of Search ..24/l7 l l 2 5 S mm on a person.s wrist References Cited 6 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 1,850,722 3ll 9 2 lestenntan .,,2 1/l9l 48 52 49 l n. l 58 l 40 YPATENTED Jmzslmz 3.836596 SHEEI 1 0F 5 INVENTOR YOSHiH/RO /z l/KA BYA/ML, pMd W ATTORNEY PATENTED JANZS I972 SHEET 2 [IF 5 INVI ENTOR YOSH/H/RO nzum A w PMa VM M ATTORNEYS PATENTED JAN25 r972 SHEET 3 [IF 5 INVENTOR YOSH/H/RO llZl/KAI BY V-Ma'wwhsmw ATTORNEYS PATENTEU m2 5 I872 SHEET b [1F 5 XNVENTOR msH/H/Rd IIZI/KA BY /ML, PM, a

ATTORNEYS PATENTED JAN251972 31 3559 sum 5 or s INVENTOR ATTORNEY BUCKLE CONSTRUCTION FOR A WRISTWATCI-I BRACELET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a buckle for a bracelet, particularly a watch bracelet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a buckle for a wristwatch bracelet which can be easily worn on a wrist and can effectively prevent accidental unfastening of the buckle such that the wristwatch may fall from the wrist.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a buckle comprising lever means for latching a pair of buckle elements together, said lever means having a large lever ratio whereby the buckle elements can be latched together with a substantial locking force.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bracelet buckle construction in which positive locking is ensured through a large lever ratio whereby the watch secured to the bracelet is positively prevented from being dropped from the wrist wearing it even under a violent movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described in comparison with conventional bracelet buckle means making reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing a conventional buckle construction used in conjunction with a metallic bracelet for a wristwatch;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing another conventional buckle construction which is used in a net band for a wristwatch;

FIG. 2B is a side elevational view of the buckle construction shown in FIG. 2A, a portion of the buckle being shown by a section;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a further conventional buckle construction which is used in conjunction with a mesh band for a wristwatch;

FIG. 3B is a side elevational view of the buckle construction shown in FIG. 3A, a part of the buckle being shown by a section;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the buckle construction made in accordance with the present invention, the buckle being designed for use with a mesh band for a wristwatch;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the buckle shown in FIG. 4, a portion of the buckle being shown by a section;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the buckle construction of FIG. 4 in an unlatched position;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the buckle construction made in accordance with the present invention, a portion of the buckle being shown by a section;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view showing the latching lever used in the buckle construction of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the latching lever shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view showing the fixed lever used in the buckle construction of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the fixed lever shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a partial broken side elevational view showing a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the support used in the buckle construction of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the backplate used in the buckle construction of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a further embodiment of the buckle construction in accordance with the present invention, the buckle being shown in a latched position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It has hithertofore been known to use, in a bracelet for a watertight wristwatch, a folding-type buckle construction as shown in FIG. I. In this known construction, a metallic band 11 having one end connected with a leg portion of a watchcase (not shown) is pivotally connected by means of a pin 9 to a backplate 7 which is pivotally connected by means of a pin 8 with an intermediate plate 6, and the plate 6 is in turn pivotally connected to the sides 3 of a cover I by means of a pin 5 passing through one of paired aligned holes 4 provided in the sides 3.

The cover I is adapted to enclose the backplate 7 and the intennediate plate 6 with its side portions 3 and securely hold them in the locked position, and for this purpose, the cover I is provided at its end with a hooklike portion 2 which can engage with the pin 9.

Further, a metallic band 12 which is connected at its one end with a leg portion of the watchcase is pivotally connected at the other end with the cover I by means of a pin 10 passing through another pair of holes 4 provided in the side portions 1. The pin 10 may be inserted into a selected pair of holes 4 provided in the side portions 3 of the cover I, so that the length of the bracelet can readily be adjusted as desired. In this construction, in order to wear the bracelet on the wrist, the intermediate plate 6 is folded over the backplate 7 and the cover I is further placed over the intermediate plate 6 until the hook portion 2 is snappingly engaged with the pin 9. However, this prior structure is disadvantageous in that, if the hook portion 2 is subjected to an outwardly directed external force or if the bands 11 and 12 are subjected to a substantial tensile force which acts to separate them one from the other, the hook portion 2 is easily disengaged from the pin 9.

Another known buckle construction includes the one which is particularly used in conjunction with a mesh metallic band. Examples of such a buckle construction are shown in FIGS. 2A and B and FIGS. 3A and B.

In FIG. 2A and 28, a band 22 is connected at one end with a leg portion of a watchcase and at the other end with side portions 14 of a support plate 13 by means of a pin 21. On the side portions 14 of the support plate 13, a locking lever 17 is further pivotally attached by means of a pin 20. The locking lever 17 is provided at its lower side with a projection I8 which is adapted to cooperate with a projection 16 on the support plate 13.

In this structure, in order to secure bands 22 and 23 around a wrist, the band with the watch is held by one hand and the band 23 is inserted between the projection 16 of the support plate 13 and the projection 18 of the locking lever 17 to a desired position. Thereafter, the locking lever 17 is moved to the locking position shown in the drawings. Thus, the projection 18 presses the band 23 onto the projection 16 of the support plate 13 so as to hold the band 23 on the support plate 13. When it is desired to take the watch off the wrist, a lip portion 19 provided at the end of the locking lever 17 is lifted so as to allow the projection 18 thereof to release the band 23.

However, since a mesh metallic band such as the Milano netted band has in itself no resiliency, it is very difficult to lock the buckle while holding the watch by one hand. Further, in the illustrated prior art structure, it is very difficult to insert the end portion of the band 23 through the space between the projection 18 of the locking lever 17 and the bottom 15 of the support plate 13 into the space defined beneath the other band 22, and the watch may possibly be accidentally dropped when it is desired to secure the watch on the wrist.

The buckle construction shown in FIGS. 3A and B is substantially the same as that shown in FIGS. 2A and B. More particularly, a support plate 24 has opposite side portions 25 each of which is provided with a projecting end portion 27. Further, the support plate 24 is provided at its lower portion with a projection 26 for engagement with the lower side of a band 35. A locking lever 28 is pivotally mounted by a pin 31 on the side portions 25 of the support plate and has projections 30 for engagement with the upper surface of the band 35. One end of a band 34 is pivotally connected to the projecting end portions 27 by means of a pin 32 and a ring 33 is provided on the band 34.

In this structure, in order to secure the watch on the wrist, the band 35 is inserted through the space between the projection 26 of the support plate and the projection 30 of the locking lever into the ring 33 with the lip portion 29 of the locking lever 28 rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 3B. Thereafter, the locking lever 28 is returned to the locking position shown in the drawing. In this known construction, since the end of the band 35 is located above the band 34 and its end is held by inserting into the ring 33, it is inferior from the design point of view and is disadvantageous in that the end of band 35 becomes free when the ring is displaced.

The present invention is aimed to improve the prior buckle construction in both function and appearance. The first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. In this embodiment, a support plate 36 is formed with a pair of side portions 37 and a bottom portion forming a slightly curved backplate portion 40. The bottom portion is provided with a projection 38 for engagement with a band 58.

The backplate portion 40 has at its one end an aligned hinge formations 41 for receiving a pin 60 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. On the hinge fun-nations 41, one end of an intermediate plate 52 is pivotally mounted by means of the pin 60. The intermediate plate 52 has, as shown in FIGS. and 6, a stepped portion 53 for accommodating the band 58 and is provided at its end with a hinge formation 54 which is adapted to be connected with a connecting plate 55 by means of a pin 56. The intermediate plate 52 is pivotally connected with the connecting plate 55. The connecting plate 55 is provided at its other end with a portion 61 for connecting another band 57. The band 57 is made of natural or synthetic leather, vinyl, netted metallic band or flexible metallic material, and is secured at its end to the connecting plate 55.

A locking lever 44 has a lip portion 45 at one end and a cam portion 46 at the other end, and is pivotally connected to the side portions 37 and 37 of the support plate by means of a pin 47. A fixed lever 48 has, as the locking lever 44, a lip portion 49 and a cam portion 50, and is pivotally connected to the side portions 37 and 37 of the support plate by means of a pin 51.

A pressure'plate 42. is made of a thin metal sheet or a flexible nonmetallic material and is provided with a pair of shafts 43 projecting in the opposite directions from the opposite side thereof adjacent to one of its ends. The shafts are inserted into aligned holes 39 formed in the respective side portions 37 of the support plate so as to pivotally mount the pressure plate 42 on the support plate. The upper surface of the pressure plate 42 is adapted to be engaged by the cam portion 46 of said locking lever 44 and the cam portion 50 of the fixed lever 48 to be depressed thereby, whereby the pressure plate 42 securely holds the band 58 disposed between the plate 42 and the backplate 40. The band 58 is provided with a plurality of suitably spaced recesses 59 which cooperate with correspondingly shaped projections 38 provided on the backplate 40 of the support plate 36, so that the band 58 is securely held on the backplate against the sliding movement with respect to the backplate. As shown in FIG. 5, the locking lever 44 serves to depress by its lower surface the hinge formation 54 downwardly. The cam portion 46 of said locking lever 44 and the cam portion 50 of the fixed lever 48 are so designed with respect to the pins 47 and 51 respectivley that they are respectively subjected to clockwise and counterclockwise rotational force when they are in the position shown in FIG. 5.

In the buckle construction described above, when it is desired to adjust the length of the band, the end of the band 58 is inserted into the buckle between the pressure plate 42 and the backplate 40 until a desired length of the band is obtained, whereupon the fixed lever 48 is moved to the locked position shown in FIG. 5 to secure the band 58 on the backplate 40.

In this embodiment, the band 58 is secured in place through the cooperating engagement between the projections 38 and the recesses 59 in the band 58; however, the recesses in the band are not essential and the band 58 may be sufficiently secured through the pressing engagement between the projections 38 on .the backplate 40 and the pressure plate 42.

The band 57 is folded over the intermediate plate 52 and the backplate 40 from the position shown in FIG. 6 until the pin 56 connecting the intermediate plate 52 with the connecting plate 55 is received in the space formed by two side portions 37 of the support plate. Thereafter, the locking lever 44 is moved to the locking position as shown in FIG. 5. In this position, the locking lever 44 receives a clockwise rotational force from the pressure plate 42 through the cam portion 46.

With this construction, most of the tensile forces acting on the bands 57 and 58 are concentrated on the connecting pin 60. The tension in the band 57 is transferred through the connecting plate 55 to the hinge portion 54 connecting the plate 55 to the intermediate plate 52 and acts to raise it. Thus, the locking lever 44 is subjected at its inner surface to a force in the direction shown by an arrow in FIG. 5; however, since the hinge portion 54 is located sufiiciently close to the pin 47, the locking lever 44 cannot be unlocked unless a substantial force is applied. Therefore, the buckle cannot possibly be unintentionally unlocked. In contrast to this, according to the known construction shown in FIG. 1, the engaging force between the hook portion 2 and the pin 9 must resist a force acting to raise the cover 1.

Referring to FIG. 7 which shows the second embodiment of the present invention, a support plate 62 comprises a pair of opposingly disposed side portions 64 and a backing plate 63 which connects the lower ends of the side portions. The backing plate 63 is provided with a projection 65 which is adapted to cooperate with either one of correspondingly shaped recesses 87 provided on a band 86. The backing plate 63 is further provided at its one end with aligned hinge portions 89 for receiving a pin 70.

An intermediate plate 67 which has at its one end a hinge portion 69 for engagement with said pin 70 is pivotally connected with said backplate 63 at the hinge portion. The intermediate plate 67 is provided at a portion adjacent to the pin 70 with a stepped portion 68 to provide a space between the intermediate plate 67 and the backplate 63 for receiving the band 86. By this arrangement, the length of the band 86 can be adjusted throughout a wider range. The stepped portion 68 corresponds to the stepped portion 53 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the stepped portion 53 is provided at the inner sides of the side portions 37, while in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the stepped portion 68 is provided at the outer sides of the side portions 64.

At the left end of the intermediate plate 67 as viewed in FIG. 7, there is formed a hinge portion 71 for engagement with a pin 72 and the band 88 which is provided at one end with aligned hinge portions 90 which cooperate with the hinge portion 71 of the intermediate plate 67 and receive the pin 72.

By this arrangement, the band 88 is pivotally connected with the intermediate plate 67.

A mechanism for housing and securing the intennediate plate 67, the hinge portion 71, the pin 72, the hinge portions 90 and the band 88 between the side portions 64 of the support plate is shown in FIG. 7. More particularly, a locking lever 73 having a hinge portion 74, a cam portion 75, a depressing portion 76 and a lip portion 81 is inserted between the oppositely disposed side portions 64 and 64 and supported thereby through a pin 77 inserted into the hinge portion 74 and secured at the opposite ends to the side portions 64 of the support plate. The cam portion 75 of the locking lever 73 engage with the upper surface of the pressure plate 78 shown in FIG. 7, and the depressing portion 76 of the locking lever 73 serves to downwardly depress the hinge portions 71 and 90.

The pressure plate 78 has a pair of shafts 79 projecting transversely from the opposite sides thereof. The shafts 79 are received in aligned holes 66 formed in the side portions 64 of the support plate.

A mechanism for adjusting the length of the band 86 is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 and includes a fixed lever 80 having a lip portion and other structural portions. The fixed lever 80 includes aligned hinge portions 82 for receiving a pin 83. The pin 83 is secured at its opposite ends to the side portions 64 of the support plate and pivotally supports the fixed lever 80. The fixed lever 80 is so formed that the point of contact between the cam portion 84 and the pressure plate 78 is offset toward right from a vertical line passing through the pin 83 toward the pressure plate 78. Thus, the fixed lever 80 is constantly subjected to a counterclockwise rotational force in the position shown in FIG. 7. Similarly, the locking lever 73 is so designed that it is subjected to a clockwise rotational force when it is in the position shown in FIG. 7.

In the construction as described above, the operation for adjusting the length of the band 86 and that for securing the watch and the bands around a wrist are similar to those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. More particularly, with the locking lever 73 positioned in the unlocked position, the intermediate plate 67 the hinge portions 71 and 90 and the band 88 are inserted between the side portions 64 of the support plate by folding them together. Thereafter, the locking lever 73 is moved in the clockwise direction to the locked position shown in FIG. 7. Thus, the locking lever serves, by it s depressing portion 76, to depress the hinge portion 71 of the intermediate plate 67 downwardly. Further, the cam portion 75 of the locking lever acts on a portion of the pressure plate 78 to depress it downwardly, whereby the band 86 and the backplate 63 are securely held together.

As in the previous embodiment, the lip portion 81 of the locking lever is kept from-the direct contact with the band 88.

Further, in this embodiment, the projection 65 on the backplate engages with either one of the recesses 87 in the band 86 in order to secure the buckle construction to the band, however, as in the previous embodiment, the band is not necessarily provided with such recesses.

The third embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 will now be described. As shown in FIG. 13, a support plate 91 comprises a pair of side portions 92 and a bottom portion 93, each of said side portions 92 having holes 94 and 95. FIG. 14 shows a backplate 96 for use with this embodiment. The backplate 96 is provided at its one end with hinge portions 101 and at the other end with a pair of side portions 97. Each of the side portions 97 has a pinhole 99 at its upper end portion 98, and a resilient projection 100 is formed as an extension of the backplate 96.

The backplate 96 is mounted on the support plate 91 by placing it in the support frame 91 as shown by phantom line in FIG. 13 so that the holes 99 in the side portions 97 of the backplate are aligned with the holes 95 in the side portions 92 of the support plate 91, whereupon the hinge portion 74 of the locking lever 73 is placed in an aligned relationship with these aligned holes and a pin 77 is inserted into them to pivotally connect the backplate 96 and the locking lever 73 with the support plate 91. In FIG. 13, these arrangements are not clear because a portion thereof is omitted.

The hinge portions 101 of the backplate 96 are pivotally connected with a hinge portion 104 formed on an intermediate plate 105 by means of a pin 103. Further, a hinge portion 106 of the intermediate plate 105 is so formed that it can be depressed by the depressing portion 76 of the locking lever 73.

A fixed lever 80 is secured on the side portions 92 of the support plate shown in FIG. 13 at its hinge portions 82 by means of a pin 83 and has a cam portion 84 which is adapted to depress the resilient projection 100 of the backplate 96 and thus a band 111. The backplate 96 has a projection 102 which is brought into engagement with a selected recesses 112 provided on the band 111 for securely holding the band. According to the arrangement of this embodiment, the band 111 can be adjustably moved along the whole length of the space defined between the backplate 96 and the bottom portion 93 of the support plate 91 so that a wider range of adjustment can be provided.

FIG. is a sectional view showing the fourth embodiment of the present invention in which a support plate 113 has a backplate portion 114 formed with a cutout for directing a band 118 therethrough. A bottom portion 115 of the support plate 113 is provided with a-projection 116 which is adapted to be brought into engagement with a selected one of recesses formed on the band 118. According to this embodiment, as in the third embodiment, it is possible to widen the range of adjustment of the band length.

As described above, according to the band construction of the present invention, a pair of band pieces, each of which is secured to a leg portion of a watchcase, are connected together as shown in FIG. 6 by means of a buckle construction comprising an intermediate plate, a backplate and so on, so that the watch can readily be secured on a wrist without any possibility of accidentally dropping the watch. Further, by housing the end portions of the band pieces, the intermediate plate and the backplate in the space defined between the opposite side portions of the support plate, and by depressing the hinge portion of the intermediate plate downwardly onto the band, the latter can be securely locked.

With this construction, the tension force acting on the bands to separate them from each other will be substantially concentrated on the connection between the backplate and the intermediate plate, and the locking lever is subjected to an upwardly directed force acting on its inner surface through the hinge portion connecting the intermediate plate to the band. However, since the hinge portion is located sufiiciently close to the pivot axis of the locking lever, a substantially large force is required to unlock the locking lever unintentionally. Thus, the possibility that the bands are accidentally unlocked is substantially eliminated. In contrast to this, in the conventional folding-type bracelet as shown in FIG. 1, the force of engagement between the hook portion 2 of the cover 1 and the pin 9 must be sufficiently high to withstand a force acting in the sense to unlock the cover. If the force of engagement is excessively high, locking operation of the buckle becomes very difficult. Further, according to the present invention, as compared with the known buckle construction shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, handling of the buckle can be substantially improved and the watch need not necessarily be held by hand when it is placed on a wrist. Therefore, there will be no possibility that the watch will be accidentally dropped.

The buckle construction in accordance with the present invention may be applied not only to a netted metallic band construction, but also to a natural leather band, a synthetic leather band, a vinyl band and a flexible metallic band. According to the present invention, the buckle construction can be made compact and the range of adjustment of band length can be increased.

According to the present invention, since the buckle construction can be designed to be compact, the appearance of the band can be remarkably improved as compared with any conventional buckle design.

I claim:

1. A buckle construction for a watchband comprising in combination;

a support plate having upstanding side portions;

a backplate having one end secured to said support plate;

an intermediate plate pivotally connected at its one end to the other end of said backplate and being pivotally connected at its other end by a connecting means to an end of said band;

a locking lever pivotally mounted on said side portions of said support plate;

said locking lever having a depressing portion adjacent to its pivot which, upon actuation of said locking lever to its locking position, bears against said connecting means when said intermediate plate and said end of said band are placed one over the other and with said connecting means housed in the space defined by said side portions of said support plate and said backplate;

said support plate further defining a recess for slidably receiving the other end of said band; and

band-locking means for locking said other end of said band 7 in said support plate at various selected positions of said other end of said band within said recess to adjust thereby the effective length of said band, whereby actuation of said locking lever to its unlocked position effectively enlarges the size of said band while maintaining said band as a closed loop to permit placement on and removal from the wrist and actuation of said band-locking means permits convenient adjustment of the band size to suitthe wearer.

2. A buckle construction for a watchband in accordance with claim 1 in which said locking means comprises a second locking lever pivotally supported by said side portions of said support plate;

said 'second locking lever having a cam portion which depresses said other end of said band against said support plate to secure said other end in its selected position.

3. A buckle construction for a watch bracelet in accordance with claim 1 in which said intermediate plate is provided with a stepped portion;

said recess being defined between said intermediate plate and said backplate;

a length of said other end portion of said band being housed in said recess in order to allow the adjustment of the band length.

4. A buckle construction for a watch bracelet in accordance with claim 3, in which said stepped portion of the intermediate plate is located adjacent to said connecting means between said intermediate plate and said backplate, whereby said recess defined by said intermediate plate and the backplate is enlarged,

5. A buckle construction for a watch bracelet in accordance with claim 1, in which a rigid portion of said backplate 96 which is pivotally connected with said intermediate plate 105 is extended at its said one end to form a resilient projection and said band 111 at its said other end being secured to said support plate 91 through said resilient projection 100.

6. A buckle construction for a watchband comprising in combination;

a unitary support plate having a pair of side portions and backplate and bottom portions which lie in substantially parallel spaced planes and define therebetween a recess for receiving one end of said band;

a locking lever and a second lever pivotally connected to said support plate;

an intermediate plate which is pivotally connected at one end to said backplate and pivotally connected at its other end by a connecting means to the other end of said band;

said locking lever having a depressing portion which depresses said connecting means against said backplate and further having a cam means which maintains said locking lever in its locked position when once operated to such position;

said second lever having a cam portion which in its locked position presses said one end of said hand against said bottom portion;

whereby said band is engaged on or disengaged from the wrist by operating said locking lever and the length of the band is adjusted by operating said second lever. 

1. A buckle construction for a watchband comprising in combination; a support plate having upstanding side portions; a backplate having one end secured to said support plate; an intermediate plate pivotally connected at its one end to the other end of said backplate and being pivotally connected at its other end by a connecting means to an end of said band; a locking lever pivotally mounted on said side portions of said support plate; said locking lever having a depressing portion adjacent to its pivot which, upon actuation of said locking lever to its locking position, bears against said connecting means when said intermediate plate and said end of said band are placed one over the other and with said connecting means housed in the space defined by said side portions of said support plate and said backplate; said support plate further defining a recess for slidably receiving the other end of said band; and band-locking means for locking said other end of said band in said support plate at various selected positions of said other end of said band within said recess to adjust thereby the effective length of said band, whereby actuation of said locking lever to its unlocked position effectively enlarges the size of said band while maintaining said band as a closed loop to permit placement on and removal from the wrist and actuation of said band-locking means permits convenient adjustment of the band size to suit the wearer.
 2. A buckle construction for a watchband in accordance with claim 1 in which said locking means comprises a second locking lever pivotally supported by said side portions of said support plate; said second locking lever having a cam portion which depresses said other end of said band against said support plate to secure said other end in its selected position.
 3. A buckle construction for a watch bracelet in accordance with claim 1 in which said intermediate plate is provided with a stepped portion; said recess being defined between said intermediate plate and said backplate; a length of said other end portion of said band being housed in said recess in order to allow the adjustment of the band length.
 4. A buckle construction for a watch bracelet in accordance with claim 3, in which said stepped portion of the intermediate plate is located adjacent to said connecting means between said intermediate plate and said backplate, whereby said recess defined by said intermediate plate and the backplate is enlarged.
 5. A buckle construction for a watch bracelet in accordance with claim 1, in which a rigid portion of said backplate 96 which is pivotally connected with said intermediate plate 105 is extended at its said one end to form a resilient projection 100 and said band 111 at its said other end being secured to said support plate 91 through said resilient projection
 100. 6. A buckle construction for a watchband comprising in combination; a unitary support plate having a pair of side portions and backplate and bottom portions which lie in substantially parallel spaced planes and define therebetween a recess for receiving one end of said band; a locking lever and a second lever pivotally connected to said support plate; an intermediate plate which is pivotally connected at one end to said backplate and pivotally connected at its other end by a connecting means to the other end of said band; said locking lever having a depressing portion which depresses said connecting means against said backplate and further having a cam means which maintains said locking lever in its locked position when once operated to such position; said second lever having a cam portion which in its locked position presses said one end of said band against said bottom portion; whereby said band is engaged on or disengaged from the wrist by operating said locking lever and the length of the band is adjusted by operating said second lever. 